Posted on 04/13/2004 5:30:31 AM PDT by HAL9000
BUDAPEST : Hungarian authorities foiled an assassination attempt against visiting Israeli President Moshe Katsav.Three people of Arab origin had been arrested in connection with the bomb plot, local radio station Inforadio reported on Tuesday, quoting intelligence sources.
Hungarian police had learned of a planned terror attack during Katzav's visit, national police spokesman Lajos Nemeth told AFP but would not confirm or deny that the Israeli head of state was the target.
"Police in Budapest took measures based on the suspicion of a terrorist attack," Nemeth said. "House searches, interrogations, detentions are under way."
There was no official confirmation, although police said they are planning to hold a press conference at 1400 GMT.
Inforadio said Katsav's programme had to be changed four times because of security reasons.
Katsav, a member of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's right-wing Likud party, is on an official three-day visit to Hungary during which he was due to open a Holocaust museum in the capital.
The reported plot came as Sharon was on his way to the United States for talks with US President George W. Bush to try to win support for his plan to unilaterally pull out of the Gaza Strip but keep six large Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank.
With the possible exception of Poland, Hungary is the most pro-American country in Europe. More than any other tribe in Europe the Magyars share the American ideal of self reliance and independence. They (the country ...not the people) are only limited by their small size.
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